|
|||
|
|
|||
|
  |
COMEDIAN JOHN CLEESE PERFORMS ONE-MAN STAGE SHOWFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 27, 2006 COMEDIAN JOHN CLEESE PERFORMS ONE-MAN STAGE SHOW "Seven Ways to Skin an Ocelot" (SCOTTSDALE, Ariz.) – Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts presents the one-man stage show "Seven Ways to Skin an Ocelot" starring the absurdly funny John Cleese on Friday and Saturday, March 10 – 11, at 8 p.m. The event is presented with support from James Hotel and members of the Center Inner Circle. Single tickets ($65) for both Friday and Saturday performances and Up-Close-and-Personal tickets ($150) for the Saturday performance and reception are sold-out. A waiting list is being kept for any tickets that become available. One of the world’s favorite comedians, John Cleese is best known as a member of the legendary Monty Python ensemble and for his many roles in television and film. Cleese was born in 1939, in Weston-Super-Mare, England, into a family of modest means, his father being an insurance salesman, but he was nonetheless sent off to private schools to obtain a good education. There he was often tormented for his height, having reached six feet by the age of 12, and eventually discovered that being humorous could deflect aggressive behavior in others. Cleese loved humor in and of itself, collected jokes and, like many young Britons who would grow up to be comedians, was devoted to the radio comedy program "The Goon Show," starring Peter Sellers, Spike Milligan and Harry Secombe. Cleese did well in both sports and academics, but his real love was comedy. He attended University of Cambridge to study law, but devoted a great deal of time to the school’s Footlights group, writing and performing in comedy reviews, often in collaboration with future fellow Python Graham Chapman. Several of these comedy reviews met with great success, including one in particular that toured under the name Cambridge Circus. After graduation, Cleese wrote for the BBC, then rejoined Cambridge Circus in 1964, touring New Zealand and America. He remained in America after leaving Cambridge Circus, performing and doing a little journalism, and met Terry Gilliam, another future Python. Returning to England, Cleese began appearing in a BBC radio series, "I’m Sorry I’ll Read That Again", based on Cambridge Circus. It ran for several years and also starred future ‘Goodies’ Tim Brooke-Taylor, Bill Oddie and Graeme Garden. He also appeared, briefly, with Brooke-Taylor, Chapman and Marty Feldman in "At Last the 1948 Show" (1967), for television, and a series of collaborations with some of the finest comedy-writing talent in England at the time, some of whom—including Eric Idle, Gilliam, Terry Jones, Michael Palin and Chapman—eventually joined him in Monty Python. These programs included "The Frost Report" (1966) and Marty Feldman’s show "Marty" (1966). Eventually, however, the writers became the actors in their own program, "Monty Python’s Flying Circus" (1969), which was originally to be a vehicle for Cleese but soon showed itself to be an ensemble program. Monty Python displayed a strange and completely absorbing blend of low farce and high-concept absurdist humor and remains influential to this day. After three seasons with Monty Python, Cleese left the show, though he collaborated with one or more of the other Pythons for decades to come, including the Python movies released from the mid-1970s through the early-1980s: "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" (1975), "Life of Brian" (1979), "Monty Python Live at the Hollywood Bowl" (1982), and "The Meaning of Life" (1983). Cleese and then-wife Connie Booth collaborated in the legendary television series "Fawlty Towers" (1975), as the sharp-tongued, rude, bumbling yet somehow lovable proprietor of a rundown English seaside hotel. Cleese apparently based this character on a proprietor he had met while staying with the other Pythons at a hotel in England. Only a dozen episodes were made, but each was truly hilarious, and he is still closely associated with this program. Cleese established a production company, Video Arts, to create clever business-training videos, which continue to be enormously successful in the English-speaking world. He continues to act prolifically in movies, including in the hit comedy "A Fish Called Wanda" (1988), as Nearly Headless Nick in the Harry Potter films and as Q in the James Bond films. Actually, he began as R in "The World Is Not Enough" (1999) before graduating to Q. Cleese also supplies his voice to numerous animated and video projects and frequently does commercials. Besides the infamous Basil Fawlty character, Cleese’s other well known trademark is his rendition of an English upper-class toff. Education and learning are important elements of his life—he was Rector of the University of Saint Andrews from 1973 until 1976, and continues to be a professor at large of Cornell University in New York. Cleese lives in Santa Barbara, California, with his wife Alyce Faye. LOCATION AND PARKING ACCESSIBILITY Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts offers performance accommodations to enhance our audience members’ experience, including: American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation or live audio description with two weeks advance notice. Assisted listening devices and wheelchair seating are always available. Visit our website www.scottsdaleperformingarts.org or contact the box office at 480-994-ARTS [TDD: (480) 874-4694] for further details. Please inquire about services when ordering tickets. STUDENT DISCOUNTS GROUP DISCOUNTS SPONSORSHIP SCOTTSDALE CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS The Scottsdale Cultural Council, a private, non-profit 501 (c) (3) management organization, administers the arts and cultural affairs of the City of Scottsdale, Arizona, and manages the Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts, the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, and the Scottsdale Public Art Program. The programs of the Scottsdale Cultural Council are made possible, in part, by grants received from the Arizona Commission on the Arts through appropriations from the Arizona State Legislature, the National Endowment for the Arts and our members and donors. HOW TO REACH US For interviews, digital photographs or additional information please contact:
|
||
Patron Services Box Office | 480-994-ARTS (2787), ext. 2 Monday - Saturday, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. | Sunday, noon - 5 p.m. The Scottsdale Center for Performing Arts, Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, and Scottsdale Public Art are divisions of the Scottsdale Cultural Council. Copyright ©2010 Scottsdale Cultural Council - All rights reserved. Scottsdale Cultural Council | Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art | Scottsdale Public Art |
|||
Print This Page
Email This Page